Citation Nr: 21006510 Decision Date: 02/04/21 Archive Date: 02/04/21 DOCKET NO. 09-29 065 DATE: February 4, 2021 REMANDED Entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance is remanded. REASONS FOR REMAND The Veteran served on active duty from August 1960 to July 1964. This case comes before the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (Board) on appeal from June 2014 and November 2019 rating decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO). The appeal was last remanded by the Board in October 2020 for additional development. Regrettably, more development is still necessary. See Stegall v. West, 11 Vet. App. 268 (1998). The Board notes that this matter has been advanced on the docket pursuant to 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c). Entitlement to special monthly compensation (SMC) based on the need for aid and attendance is remanded. In February 2018 and October 2020, the Board remanded the Veteran’s claim for entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance. The Board’s remands also instructed the RO to adjudicate the referred and intertwined issue of service connection for degenerative bone disease due to ionizing radiation. Thus, considering the December 2020 supplemental statement of the case (SSOC) issued after the Board’s second remand failed to adjudicate the intertwined issue of service connection for degenerative bone disease due to ionizing radiation, the Board finds that the RO has not complied with the Board’s February 2018 and October 2020 remand directives. Id. The Board acknowledges that December 2020 correspondence from VA acknowledged receipt of the Veteran’s March 2016 claim for degenerative bone disease due to ionizing radiation, however, the claim has not been adjudicated yet. On remand, the RO must adjudicate the intertwined issue of entitlement to service connection for degenerative bone disease due to ionizing radiation and readjudicate the issue of entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance. The matters are REMANDED for the following action: 1. Adjudicate the issue of entitlement to service connection for degenerative bone disease due to ionizing radiation. 2. Then, readjudicate the issue of entitlement to SMC based on the need for aid and attendance. D. SMART Acting Veterans Law Judge Board of Veterans’ Appeals Attorney for the Board J. Palombi, Associate Counsel The Board’s decision in this case is binding only with respect to the instant matter decided. This decision is not precedential and does not establish VA policies or interpretations of general applicability. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1303.